This summer, load up the kid's kindles with 3 great summer reads from Little Bird Publishing House for just £0.99p / $0..99c . Three books perfect for avid and reluctant readers aged 12+Little Bird Books is dedicated to publishing books that promote diversity, education and strong positive values, as well as being a page-turning adventure.

EAGLE OF THE EMPIRE by MARTIN FERGUSON.Recently released, 'Eagle of The Empire' is the first book in the 'RELIC HUNTERS series' Ideal for all readers who love history, adventure and thrills - particularly perfect for reluctant boy readers who are looking for fast paced, heroic storylines.

BLURB: Join the subversive and charming college student, Adam Hunter in his quest to recover his brother and the infamous Roman Relic of The Golden Eagle.

As Adam undertakes the dangerous adventure to find his missing brother, he unearths the secret organisation, which is part of the British Museum, This top secret, classified group are responsible for undertaking extreme treasure hunting, and relic recovery quests, ensuring history's most prized, dangerous, and sometimes magical, artefacts are secured safely away for future generations.

Erased from history, and transformed into the realm of legends, the Legio IX Hispana was fabled to have been involved in an event so miraculous, and to have secured a totem so powerful, that now, the most evil man on the planet will do anything in his power to secure it.

Dash alongside the Hunter Brothers and the British Museum team as they do everything in their power to stop The Eagle of The Empire falling into the wrong hands.

THE SISTERHOOD by ALISON CLARKEHaving met with much praise for being a celebration of racial diversity in children's fantasy, and for promoting positive values of friendship, individuality and courage, Alison Clarke's book,, 'The Sisterhood' (Book 1 of a series) is an inspiring, magical read for readers of 12+ / YA and Cross Over.

When Oppie and Aurie are faced with a terrible battle between good and evil, they discover that friendship and sisterhood are the most precious things in the world.

In a realm where magic and legend still exist, it's easy to think that when you're just an ordinary girl, you'll never get the chance to be written into the history books. But when Oppie, and her dragon friend Aurie, find themselves on a mission to defeat the evil, oppressive forces of darkness, in the form of the dragon, Royzendeus, they discover that history is never made alone. As they travel, their army of light grows, and Aurie discovers that as a girl, she is blessed with an entire sisterhood she never realised existed.

THE GLOW by HELEN WHAPSHOTTThe Glow is the first in the Series 'The Glow' and Book 2 'Shine' is also available for download. A magical paranormal series with strong fairytale influences, 'The Glow' series is a wonderful, magical read full of positive friendships, doing good-deeds, shadowy adventures and a celebration of team work and family.

​BLURB: When Megan discovers that she is gifted with 'The Glow' her outlook on life (and death) changes dramatically. Having been forced to move from her friends and childhood home in London to take up residence in a spooky old hotel inherited from her aunt, Megan fears that life is going to being boring and miserable - she couldn't be more wrong.

Discovering a band of most unlikely friends, including a witch and a chain-smoking spirit guide, Megan learns to love the gifts that she has been given.

In this charming coming of age series, the cast of paranormal and fairytale characters living in the town of Threshold, provide a an entertaining and emotional journey for the reader.

A Children's / Young Adult cross over piece, this series is a must for lovers of Harry Potter and for readers who are looking for a series that is charming, sweet and innocent. Suitable for readers 12+

We are DELIGHTED and SUPER-PROUD to announce McCallum J. Morgan is a The Kindle Book Review Semi-Finalist in 2016 AWARDS

News broke quite quietly about this, but it certainly didn't stay quiet in our office for long. We were literally doing a Happy Dance in celebration of news that McCallum J. Morgan's book 'A Hole In The Ice' (Book 1 of The Weather Casters' Saga) is a semi-finalist in The Kindle Book Review 2016 Awards. ​

It's a massive achievement and is recognised in the indie publishing company as a great honour; many, many books are nominated in each category and the competition is really tough going. We wish McCallum all the best as he heads up through the various rounds of the awards, and know he has the potential to become a finalist. ​

It's a massive achievement and is recognised in the indie publishing company as a great honour; many, many books are nominated in each category and the competition is really tough going. We wish McCallum all the best as he heads up through the various rounds of the awards, and know he has the potential to become a finalist.

Not read 'A Hole In The Ice Yet'? What you waiting for?

An exhilarating race across Europe in a time between times; an epic fantasy adventure blending historical fantasy with steampunk elements.

From the glittering ballrooms of Vienna, to the snowy peaks of Northern Europe with a cast of mermaids, beautiful pistol-toting women, a whole host of fabulously eccentric characters and a dressing-up box of disguises,

​A Hole in The Ice is an utterly enchanting epic adventure to discover a magical land that has long since been the dreams of madmen.

And if you have already read Book One of the Weather Casters' Saga, have you also read the sequel, 'A Hole In The Sea', which continues the story in an increasingly fast-paced, maritime adventure story with a whole cast of fabulous nautica-punk characters.

This June 30th saw the release of Katie M. John's latest YA contemporary Romance novel, 'I Defy You, Stars'. Here she tells us all about it, and why she is so passionate about introducing young people to Shakespeare.

Q: So in a nutshell, what is I Defy You, Stars about? I Defy You, Stars is the story of an emerging relationship between Juliet and Rafe, who are soon (although they are unaware of it at their meeting) to become stepbrother and sister.

It is a complex story of taboo love against a backdrop of street art, underground fight clubs, social anarchy, poetry, divorce, bullying and a terrible accident, which hurtles both of them into the adult world at frightening speed.

Q: This is part of your Shakespeare Collection; what is that? In 2013, as part of NaNoWriMo, I wrote a novel called 'When Sorrows Come', which was about Malachi and Ophelia, who were caught in a terribly destructive relationship and having to also navigate incredibly difficult parental relationships. As I planned it out, there were distinct echoes of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', one of my all time favourite Shakespeare plays. It seemed natural at that point to pay homage to Shakespeare by adopting some of the underlying structure, character archetypes, and core themes, but making them relevant to a modern YA audience.

When this book came out in December 2015 it was met with a lot of positive feedback and was even nominated for a UTOPiA Award this summer. I have always loved the works of Shakespeare, even from being a young teen - the stories resonated with me even then, and across the ages. It made sense to think about how I could work with his narrative structures and characters and come up with a collection of books that might introduce his ideas and storylines to a new audience.

Q: But it's not a rewrite. You're very adamant about that.LOL - yes, I get a bit defensive when people use that phrase. It is definitely not a rewrite. I haven't just taken the plays of Shakespeare and thought about how I can 'funk' them up - you'll see my response to folks who do that in the first page of 'I Defy You, Stars!' (Expletive warnings abound) It's funny, the story emerges and the links to the Shakespeare play are almost subconscious, although there is a lot of insider play that goes on. For example, the character of Cutz was chosen without conscious though that it works well as a nickname for a guy called Mercurio; which indeed is the character Cutz shares the function of in the play - but that's what I mean. I didn't think, 'Oh, I need to include Mercurio - let me think of a nick-name that goes with that - it's more organic than that.'

You have to remember that I studied Shakespeare for almost seven years of my life, and then went on to teach it for fifteen; his plays are engraved on my soul LOLQ: Who is your favourite character in I Defy You, Stars. I'm very fond of them all, and I think that they all grew as I wrote. However, my favourite character (And it's like asking a mother to choose her favourite child LOL) has to be Rafe. I think he's a complicated character, and a multi-faceted character. He's essentially flawed but he's trying to be better, and he is struggling to define himself, despite having a seemingly charmed life. His love for Juliet is pure and honest, and it's devastating watching him tear himself apart over it.

WIN A SIGNED PAPERBACK COPY

To be in with a chance of winning a signed paperback copy of "I Defy You, Stars' then simply share this post on either your Facebook page and / or your Twitter timeline and then drop a comment in the box telling us which of Shakespeare's plays are your favourite and why?

We shall put all names in a hat and do a draw on July 31st. Please include your twitter handle so we can reach you if you win. Open internationally, but bare in mind, it might take a few weeks to get overseas.

It's a really fabulous chapter book for bedtime reading for slightly younger ones, and is classified as clean teen, making it a great introduction to meatier books, and a really fun introduction to history.

We are super-excited because we have worked with Martin on the concept for the series, and we know what awesomeness is coming in the future.

Tonight, to celebrate, we are holding a FB event launch party, which is going to be attended by several amazing author guests. It promises to be an evening full of book talk, sharing, games and fabulous giveaways. We'd love for you to join us, and as an extra exciting incentive, Martin is going to be giving away a $20 Amazon voucher (UK or USA) to one lucky, randomly selected Attendee.

WELCOME

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